Dandelion Dead (11 page)

•  •  •

I called Jackson but he
didn't answer, so I walked over to Pure to tell Simon what I'd found, and what I hadn't found because someone had taken it. Inside Pure, it was quiet, but I texted Simon to tell him I was here. When he didn't answer, I wandered into the tasting room and, finding no one, continued on to the storage barn. As I was passing the bed-and-breakfast, my pal Allie, a tall,
energetic redhead, our resident masseuse at Nature's Way, came out the door. Seeing me, she smiled, leaned her massage table against the porch railing, and came over to me.

“Hi, honey.” She gave me a hug. “How are you? I just can't believe what happened to Amy. Are you investigating again? The police need your help.”

I'd known Allie since college, and she and her best friend, Hector, had moved out from NYC shortly after Aunt Claire's death to set up shop in Nature's Way, to support me and expand their client base. Allie knew all about my adventures as an amateur detective.

“I don't think that the police would like hearing that. But Simon asked me to investigate. We think that someone wanted David dead and killed Amy by mistake.” I explained how David had offered one of his poisoned scallop appetizers to Amy.

“If it's about another woman, it might be Ivy taking revenge,” Allie said. “I'm not just saying that because I don't like her. David really runs around, and right under her nose.”

“She's right about that,” Hector said as he joined us. Hector was a gifted acupuncturist, and a wonderful human being, sweet and kind. Jamaican, his skin brown like a cocoa bean, he was fit and handsome, with a shaved head that made him look like some kind of superhero. If he hadn't been gay, he and Allie would have been a couple long ago. They kind of were, without the sex, since they lived together and did most things as a twosome.

He pulled me in for a hug. “Are you doing your investigating thing again, sweetheart?”

I nodded. “Have to. Simon asked, and I couldn't say no.”

“That's because you are friends now, better than lovers, right?” Hector smiled.

“Yes, much better. So you both have seen David sneaking around?”

Hector nodded. “More than once I've seen him meeting women inside.” He gestured to the bed-and-breakfast.

“And that's not all,” Allie said. “We've seen him at the bar at Harry's Half Shell on Main Street near our house with other women, too, multiple times. He doesn't even seem to worry about being caught.”

“Maybe it's because Ivy is cheating on him, too,” Hector said. “One time, I was called in to do a treatment very early, during the week, and I heard her next door with someone.”

“Do you think it could have been Ramsey Black?”

“Who's he?” Allie said, her forehead crinkling in thought.

“He's the head of the East End Wine Council, and I think something is going on between them.”

“I did see a man outside afterward, when I was done with my appointment. He went into the barn, and a few minutes later Ivy came out and followed him. So maybe that was him?”

“What did he look like?”

“Very handsome, and well dressed—if I had to guess I think he was straight because he didn't check me out.” Hector laughed.

“I believe it,” I said.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Hector said. “So they both
went in, but I had to leave so I don't know what happened next.” He checked his watch. “Allie, we'd better get going. We have appointments at Nature's Way.”

I said good-bye to them and took a quick look inside the barn, but no one was there. Simon was probably at Salt, but where were David, Ivy, and Gerald? I headed back outside, and this time when I walked past the bed-and-breakfast, the door was open. Inside, one of the maids was cleaning the room in front.

“Help you?” she said as I walked inside. A pretty petite brunette, she was dressed casually in black pants, sneakers, and a rose-colored shirt with three-quarter sleeves. Her name tag read
ZOLA
.

“I'm a friend of Simon's and I was wondering where he was. Do you know?”

“I haven't seen him today.” She pulled the comforter and the sheets off the bed and deposited them into a bin on the cart.

“What about David or Ivy or Gerald?”

“I don't know.” Zola pulled the pillowcases off. “Ivy was here earlier telling us what to do, but then she left. As if we don't know by now what needs to be done.”

“So she's hard to work for?”

“Always, and now since Amy is gone, she's even worse. Yes, a death like that is really hard, but she is not the only one with problems.”

“Have you ever seen Ivy staying in one of the rooms, maybe with a friend?”

Zola arched an eyebrow. “You ask a lot of questions. Who are you?”

“I'm Willow McQuade, and Simon has asked me to look into Amy's death.”

“You're a detective?”

“No, I'm not a cop, I'm an amateur sleuth. Simon and I have worked together before.”

“You find killers?”

“Yes, we find killers.”

“That's amazing. Good for you.”

“Thank you. We have a theory that someone was trying to kill David and killed Amy instead.”

“Oh my, that's terrible, but why, how?”

I explained the switched appetizer scenario.

“So maybe someone had the grudge for David?” Zola put fresh sheets on the bed.

“Yes, and what we're wondering is, if maybe Ivy was having an affair. We have heard that David was pretty busy with other women.”

“You could say that. Half the time I am covering up for him, and half the time for her. I like him better.” Zola laughed.

“Me, too. There is one man I'm wondering about in particular. His name is Ramsey Black and he's French, very handsome and well dressed.”

“Oh, yes, I know Mr. Black.” Zola explained that while David had various lovers—she described one woman who sounded like Carla but no mention of anyone who looked like Lily—Ivy used the bed-and-breakfast to meet Ramsey Black, and only him, usually early on weekday mornings. Ivy must have been meeting Ramsey the day Hector overheard them next door.

Simon had still not returned, or anyone else, so I called his cell phone, but had to leave a message. After stopping by to pick up the dogs from Jackson, I headed back into town and took them all for a walk
on the village green. Once they were tuckered out, we headed back to Nature's Way, where I helped all four dogs onto the oversize couch with lots of comfy blankets, in front of a faux electric fireplace that I'd put in last winter, thanks to money from Aunt Claire's royalties. She was taking care of all of us, even now. Zeke had quickly been assimilated into the pack and fell asleep with his head on Qigong's neck, while Columbo and Rockford lay back-to-back, like two tofu hot dogs in a bun. The two cats, Ginger and Ginkgo, came in to check the scene out but quickly scampered off upstairs.

While all the dogs took a nap, I put the investigation into Amy's death on the back burner for a bit and turned my attention to bills that needed to be paid and ordered natural products, including supplements, gluten-free breads, and cruelty-free vegan beauty products. By the time I'd finished and had lunch, I still had not heard back from Simon, so I called him, again. I wanted to find out where he was, and also to make arrangements to meet him at Amy's wake, which was to take place tonight from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. He didn't call back.

•  •  •

Finally, at six thirty Wednesday
evening, I left Simon a message that I'd meet him downtown at the funeral home. But when I got there, police cars were on both sides of the street, so I went around the corner, parked, and quickly walked back. I got there just in time to see David's brother, Kurt Farmer, being led out in
handcuffs, while David, Ivy, and Simon stood outside the door. Simon spotted me, and I waved him over.

“What is going on? And where were you today?”

“Dealing with David and his brother.”

“What happened?”

“David and I went to do a radio interview at K-BAY, in Southold, this morning. Good publicity, reaching the local market, you know?”

“Yes, right, so that's where you were. I stopped by but no one was there.”

“Yeah, Gerald called in sick, too, not that I believe it. He's just sticking it to us.”

We watched as a policeman I didn't recognize pushed Kurt into the backseat of a cruiser and slammed the door.

“Simon, focus. How did Kurt get into the picture?”

“He was waiting for David when we got back to Pure.”

“Why, what happened?”

“His father got a call that the bank had decided to foreclose on the house, and Kurt blamed it on his brother. He thinks if David had worked with them, the vineyard would have been profitable and it wouldn't have happened.”

“You can see why he might think that,” I said.

“Except he's nuts. They got into a fight, and David thought he'd broken his wrist. Ivy was at Salt, helping me with the wine pairings for the party tonight, so I brought him to the emergency room. We were there all afternoon because they were all backed up—some boating accident, I think. Good news—his wrist is just sprained.”

“So how did Kurt end up back here tonight?” We watched as the cop car took off in the direction of the police station and the jail. David reacted by lighting up a cigarette, and Ivy threw him a nasty look and went back inside.

Obviously, they still weren't getting along. Given this, it wasn't difficult to believe what David had told Lily, namely that he and Ivy no longer shared a bed. It couldn't be any fun working together either.

“I guess he wasn't finished with David,” Simon said. “He showed up about fifteen minutes ago, and we thought he just came to pay his respects, but then he and David went out back and started up again. Ivy is furious with both of them, but especially David, because he couldn't control his brother at her sister's wake. It was a bad scene.” Simon checked his watch, where a message bubble said,
Crazy busy—need you—Kate.
“I've got to get to Salt now. You two are coming, right?”

“I'm meeting Jackson there at seven. And I have something important to tell you.”

He and Jackson both needed to know about the poison hemlock at the edge of the forest.

It was always a good
thing to know the owner of a new and popular seafood restaurant, especially during a busy week such as this. Simon had reserved a table for the two for us, outside on the deck, and under a heat lamp, with a view of sailboats, motorboats, and yachts moored to the dock, and of Peconic Bay and Shelter Island. He'd placed just ten tables on the deck, so while the inside seating accommodated up to two hundred, outside felt almost like a private oasis. The dinner at Salt would benefit the North Fork Animal Welfare League, which ran exemplary shelters in Southold and Riverhead.

The event featured an oyster-themed menu—instead of the scallops, which was probably a good thing—paired with various vintages from Pure, including the contender for the big win, Falling Leaves. We started out with raw oysters and hot sauce that Ivy had paired with sauvignon blanc, then moved on to oyster stew and pinot noir, oysters Rockefeller and chardonnay, and finally to fried oysters, with skinny sweet-potato fries, creamy coleslaw, and a secret tartar sauce blend that had a kick, and Falling Leaves.

Jackson, though, was quite content with iced Perrier, with a slice of lemon. As he said, it was dry, refreshing, and didn't detract from the flavor of the oysters being served. While we enjoyed our meal—seafood was the one thing I had a hard time giving up as a vegetarian/vegan, having grown up on it on the East End—I filled Jackson in on what I'd learned during the day, starting with finding the poison hemlock.

“So the plant that you found was right next to the empty hole? I've never seen that plant out there, anywhere, and I've walked all over with the dogs.”

“I almost missed it, too, but it's there. The question is, who dug it up and how do we find out?”

“Good question.” Jackson slurped down a raw oyster. “That is so good. It tastes like it just came out of the water.”

“Glad you like it,” Simon said as he pulled a chair up to our table but remained standing. “Everything good?”

“Excellent,” Jackson said. “I'll say.”

“Good, well, I had a few minutes so I thought I'd find out what you wanted to tell me.” Simon put down his glass of wine and pulled a crisp blue check out of his inside blazer pocket. “And I also wanted to give you this. For your animal sanctuary, and for taking Zeke in.” He handed it to Jackson, who took it and shook his hand.

“This is great, Simon. Thank you, man, really.”

“You're doing a very good thing, Simon,” I said. “Thank you.”

He put an arm around each of us. “What is the point of being rich, if you can't help your friends, and the
causes they believe in?” He grabbed his glass and raised it. “Cheers to you, Jackson. Keep up the good work.”

We raised our glasses and toasted. “To you, Simon,” Jackson said. “For being a good friend to both of us.”

Simon sat down and leaned toward me. “Now, what's the latest?”

So I explained how I had found the hole where a poison-hemlock plant had been and an actual living plant right near it, along with the idea that it might mean that Ivy or Gerald or someone else had used it to try to poison David.

“But Lily had access, too,” Simon said. “That's not a point in her favor.”

Jackson shook his head. “No, it's definitely a good-news, bad-news kind of thing.”

“But now that we know it's there, we need to figure out who used it,” I said.

“How do we do that?” Simon said.

“We can search their offices at Pure first,” I said. “And you can get us into David and Ivy's house, right?”